Many computer networks include a plurality of individual computers or servers that communicate over a network, such as an Ethernet network. Data packets may be sent from computer to computer over the Ethernet network in accordance with one of various communication protocols, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP). The speed of network communications has increased over time, such that 10 gigabit per second speed for Ethernet network TCP/IP communications is now common. This high speed, combined with ever increasing volumes of data traffic, consume tremendous processing and memory bandwidth in a computer. Each computer in the network may include a host Ethernet adapter (HEA) designed to facilitate communications that terminate at an operating system running on the computer.